vol. 2 issue 1 challenging times · following e-bulletin on the award presentation. congratulatory...

The Australian Nurse Teachers’ Society e-Bulletin Volume 2, Issue 1 March 2011

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Vol. 2 Issue 1

March 2011 Edition

Challenging times....

Thank you to nurses and emergency workers President’s Report 4

Editorial 6

NSW Report 9

VIC Report 9

WA Report 11

Book Reviews 13

SA Report 17

Plus several

Special Interest stories

throughout

Inside this issue:

The Australian Nurse Teachers’ Society

e-Bulletin Working Together for the

Future of Nursing Education

To say that mother nature has thrown Australians a few curve balls lately would be an understatement. Between the floods, bushfires and cyclone, few Australians were unaffected in some way. But if there is one thing we all know, when we have to, individuals and communities work together. Despite what individuals lost, or the damage caused, communities worked together to get through it, and begin recovery. Its heartening to see that emergency workers, support personnel & nurses all pitched in to work through these disasters. The impact of Cyclone Yasi was so significant that it necessitated the complete evacuation of Cairns

Hospital, which was the biggest evacuation exercise in Australia’s history. The adaptability and commitment of nurses in these disasters has not gone un-noticed with acknowledgment coming from many including the QLD government, ANF, RCNA, NSWNA to name a few. One recent news story reported how an ICU nurse in Rockhampton, determined to do her duty, hitched a ride to work in an SES rescue boat. Another tells of how two emergency nurses entered flood affected Condamine in order to provide essential primary care services to locals.

So from your ANTS colleagues.....

THANK YOU


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External emergency management within a health

service environment

So haven’t you heard congratulations are in order! A new reality has been born into the Health Care System.

What’s its name you may ask? ‘Natural Disaster', and who is its mother? ‘Mother Nature’, and who is its father?

‘Climate Change’ of course!

So questions have to be asked: is the Health Care System ready to receive this reality? Can its demands be met?

Can the consequences of its behaviours be managed? Can society’s expectations be addressed? We have all been

forewarned but yet these questions remain unanswered.

The concept of Emergency Management has lingered in the back corridors of Health Care Systems for some

time. Despite being rehashed

every three to four years mostly

for accreditation requirements,

the main purpose of these plans

were to gather dust lying dormant

on book shelves within hospital

wards, departments and offices.

Becoming a part of essential

furniture, you could almost

guarantee that less than 1% of

employees had read the content.

Those who showed the slightest

interest in the concepts of

Emergency Management (EM)

would be given the task of revising

these plans. With no assigned

money, nor time, their profile

remained low, priorities of every day practices

dominated. Hospitals ran on reactive decision making processes, rather than proactive prearranged strategies

that need to be invoked. For years Health Services lived on the philosophy of “that would never happen here”

attitude. Well haven’t times changed!

In a matter of a few short years the profile of Emergency Management (EM) within the Health System has been

elevated. EM Coordinators have rejoiced in finally being recognized. No longer are plans allowed to collect dust,

where coordinators hide in broom cupboards. This position has been given status, to permanent full or part time

employment.

Five years ago it was all about

coordination; no longer did plans

aim for the attitudes of ‘all pitch

in’ and ‘hope for the best’. Tasks

had to have meaning, be pre

organized, and have a purpose

with role definition. As a result

the Incident Command System

(ICS) was introduced. Suddenly

Executive Directors were newly

titled Commander, Logistics,

Planning or Operation Managers

in the event of an external

emergency incident - a hospital

Code Brown event.

Cairns Hospital evacuation in preparation for Cyclone

Cyclone Yasi Continued over the page


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External emergency management within a health

service environment

Following on from the Black Saturday Royal Commission

recommendations, it is all about communications,

disseminating information and closing

the loops accurately in a timely matter

to department/ward/units. One would

say a challenge at the best of times,

but none the less accepted as a reality

that could not fail.

Partnerships were also a new

reality to be adhered to, seeking

cooperation with neighbours be it

private or public healthcare facilities

or rehabilitation centres etc.

Involvement with Local Government

Agencies – attending Council

Emergency Management Committees

is essential in learning the supply and

demand issues that arise out of

natural disasters. These

understandings are not only in the

immediate phase but through all four

principle concepts of Emergency Management that being Planning, Preparedness, Response and Recovery (PPRR).

So we have found that our lonely Code Brown plans have not only been refashioned into effective

organizational structures with partnership involvement, but have needed to become specialized to cater for

differing events. Depending on the

hospitals geographical location plans for

pandemics, Summer Preparedness -

bushfire and heat wave management,

and no doubt in coming months (if not

already) evacuation planning for floods

are required. Soon plans will expand to

tsunamis, earthquakes, mass gathering

events, and man-made communications/

IT failures.

No matter what type of incident that

Code Brown addresses, the concepts are

predominately the same, that being the

challenges of managing supply and

demand in greater volumes of displaced

persons needing healthcare.

To look into the future what is needed

now is resilience. Society and health care

workers need to build readiness into their practices and every day life experiences. Education is the key. So this

leads to the question have we trained our clinicians adequately to practice in such circumstances? Do educational

curriculums equip students enough in these principles and concepts? The impedance that remains for emergency

management today is that it is not every day practice.

So what is the answer?

Nyree Parker

CNC External Emergency Management Coordinator

[email protected]

Continued from previous page

Flooding in NSW

Bushfires in WA


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brainstorm and voice their opinions on the future

directions that will ensure that ANTS continues to be a

strong voice in nursing up to and beyond 2020. I

encourage everyone to attend the AGM and Strategic

Planning Session as it is important that each member

have the opportunity to voice their opinions on ANTS’

future directions and activities. The event is planned to

end around 5pm. So please register your attendance

as soon as possible.

During late 2010 I found myself facing a professional

dilemma. Since I plan to continue my academic career I

enrolled in a PhD on a part time basis in May 2009.

Since then, I have spent considerable time immersed in

literature reviews and completion of my ethical

clearance applications. Late last year I found myself in

a similar predicament to many other nurse academics.

The dilemma is to continue in my paid employment as

a lecturer in nursing and progress through my PhD part

time or to transfer over to full time study so as to finish

my doctorate within three years rather than six. I

realised that I had reached a point in my studies that

challenged me to choose between two situations. To

collect my data, I need to be at the health facility

outpatient’s clinic but these clinics are held at the same

times that I would be required to be on campus to

teach my undergraduate nursing students. I pondered

this dilemma for most of 2010 until I realised that I had

the financial resources to move to full time study. So in

December 2010, I resigned from my paid employment

as a lecturer in nursing to take up full time study. I am

now on track to complete by March 2014. The

dilemma is that for now, my primary role is not nurse

education, which is a requirement of ANTS

membership and in my role as President. After much

deliberation and discussion with my academic

colleagues and ANTS National Executive, I believe that I

Hello everyone,

Well another year is well underway and it is almost

12 months since I was elected President of ANTS by

the National Executive last April at the AGM held at

the NETNEP conference. I have enjoyed my tenure

immensely and look forward to the Annual General

Meeting (AGM) on April 30th in Sydney to determine

the ANTS National Executive for 2011. I am ready to

continue leading ANTS for another 12 months and it is

hoped by the 2012 AGM in Perth, a new President can

be elected from eligible ANTS members who have

served at least one term of office on a State Branch.

National Executive has been busy organising the AGM

and we believe that we have a stimulating program

for our members who are able to attend this

important meeting. The event will be held at the

Surry Hills Sebel, Albion Street Surry Hills, Sydney.

The event has been planned as a full day however

members are able to leave after lunch if they so wish.

The day is planned to begin at 9 am with a welcome to

all attendees. The Pearson/ANTS Nurse Educator of

the Year award will be presented to the 2010 winner

by David Hobson from Pearson Australia. You will

have to attend the AGM to find out the 2010 winner

however there will be a special section in the

following e-Bulletin on the award presentation.

Congratulatory and consolation letters to all the

applicants have been sent in late February. All ANTS

members should consider applying for the next award

which closes in October 2011. Information on this

prestigious award can be found on the ANTS website

www.ants.org.au.

ANTS National Executive have invited all the State

Chairs or their proxys to the event and time will be

devoted before morning tea for members to meet

each State Chair and hear the exciting events planned

for members in 2011. ANTS National Executive

believes that having the State Chairs at the AGM is

more inclusive now that ANTS has State Branches in

almost every State. It is worth noting here that all

efforts will be devoted to launching the Tasmanian

Branch as soon as possible. The AGM will be held

after morning tea and together with the President and

Treasurers reports’, Lisa Gatzonis, ANTS Vice-

President will brief members on the 2012 Nurse

Education Conference in Perth Western Australia.

After a gourmet finger food lunch, ANTS is pleased

to announce that Associate Professor Trish Davidson

will facilitate the ANTS Strategic Planning seminar

where members will have the opportunity to

Continued over page...

President’s Report


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alliance to ensure that information flows smoothly to

ANTS members on any initiatives arising from this

alliance. You are welcome to learn more about the

alliance at http://www.allianceforsharpssafety.org/.

Finally, I urge you to consider submitting an abstract

to the Australasian Nurse Educators Conference

(ANEC) 2011 which will be held in Wintec Hamilton

23rd – 25th November, 2011. Closing date is 1st May,

2011. I am sure your State Branch Committee

members would be delighted to assist you in writing

the abstract as well you can seek assistance by posting

a message on the ANTS website. Looking forward to

seeing as many of you as possible at the AGM.

Sandra Campbell

ANTS President

PhD Candidate

Rozelle Campus

The University of Tasmania

PO BOX 184

ROZELLE. NSW

0412 296 028

[email protected]

have found a solution to this dilemma. I will consider

applying for a casual lecturing position later in the

year so as to fulfil my obligation as ANTS President

and as I will be on a casual basis, my earnings will not

be so great as to influence my PhD scholarship

requirements. Ironically, as I am not working full time

I now have much more available time to devote to my

role as the current of President of ANTS.

One teleconference that I have been able to

represent ANTS at was the Alliance for Sharps Safety

and Needlestick Prevention in Healthcare which aims

to create a safer working environment for healthcare

employees in Australia to work safely without being

exposed to the occupational hazard of needlestick and

sharps injuries. I was able to stress our position that

new technologies are introduced to the health care

environment without proper education of nursing

staff and it is our members who need this education

on safety engineered medical devices in the first

instance to assist their staff in any technological

transition. I will continue to work closely with this

...President’s Report Continued.

This international conference is designed to: • Provide a forum for debate on research on clinical skills teaching and learning.

• Showcase research and best practice on clinical skills education and stimulate innovation in clinical

skills research and development.

• Gather expert and beginner researchers for networking and the development of research and

training and collaborations.

More information is available at

www.internationalclinicalskillsconference.com

You learn something everyday...if you pay attention


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Message from the Editor Well if being the Editor gives you perks, then the

chance to write about what ever I like in my

‘Message from the Editor’ would be the best perk.

As some of you may know, aside from being a

member of ANTS, I am also a full time PhD Candidate,

with the support of a Scholarship enabling me to

pursue my studies full time. My research focuses on

End of Life (EOL) care in acute hospitals.

But lets just go back a bit so you can understand

where I am coming from. I began as a graduate nurse

in 1995 and throughout my career I have worked in 4

states of Australia, and in a variety of acute care

settings, including cardiac medical, cardiothoracic

surgery, diabetes education, Intensive Care, and

several nurse education roles.

Throughout my nursing career, I became acutely

aware of the suffering that I saw with dying patients

and their families. No matter how technologically

advanced our health care provision became, our

patients and their families still suffered immensely. I

began to question why can’t all of our patients be

afforded a dignified death, where symptoms are

controlled, and they are free of suffering? Or is that

the role of palliative care????

Australia is no different to other developed

countries. Our population is ageing, and chronic

illness is now the leading cause of death. And thanks

to advances in medical treatment, many people are

living longer even with multiple chronic illnesses.

Despite our changing demographics, the primary

focus has not changed, with acute care hospitals still

delivering ‘rescue medicine’ with the goal of cure.

But attempting to cure someone of an often life-

limiting chronic illness is not only unrealistic, but also

inappropriate and takes the emphasis away from

what care should be focused on, that is relieving

symptoms and facilitating a ‘good’ death.

Interestingly, when asked, the overwhelming

majority of Australian said their preference would be

to die at home. This is probably no surprise to you,

but the reality is that almost two thirds of the

Australian population will die in an acute hospital

ward while continuing to receive active treatment.

While palliative care services in Australia are

among the best in the world, second only to the UK,

only 8% of the Australian population will receive

treatment in a palliative care unit.

Existing literature and research has focused on the

care of the dying in palliative care units, however

there is an urgency to consider the needs of those

dying in other settings.

A recent Australian study showed that despite the

promotion of advance care planning, their prevalence

in patient medical records is less than one per cent, so

those admitted to hospital with a life-limiting illness

are provided with active treatment. When this occurs,

the dying process becomes medicalised. And while

patients continue to receive active treatment, they are

unlikely to receive appropriate EOL treatment, where

the focus is on comfort, symptom control, family

inclusion and a dignified peaceful death.

The Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP), developed in the

United Kingdom, along with various iterations, has

recently been implemented in Australian care settings.

While several studies show that these pathways

resulted in marked improvement in care and

management of the dying patient and increased staff

satisfaction, several evaluations found that nursing

staff had difficulty recognising the signs of active

dying/the dying phase, and were thus unsure when to

start the care pathway.

What these studies showed is that nurses are

underprepared educationally and clinically to

recognise and manage the dying phase. While

undergraduate curricula promote holistic promote

person-centred care, more attention needs to be given

to death and dying, not only in undergraduate

education, but also in continuing education for all

registered nurses.

Educational strategies should include not only the

physiological signs, but also the social and

psychological signs of dying. This is essential for

nurses to develop early recognition of dying and

ensure that realistic quality person-centred care is

provided for the patient and extended to their

family..... food for thought

Cheers

Melissa Bloomer

Editor e-Bulletin

You can contact me on:

[email protected]

Or

03 9904 4203


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Nurse Educators and Nurses from all areas of nursing are warmly invited to attend the

15th Annual Australasian Nurse Educators Conference being held in Hamilton, New

Zealand on the 23rd to 25th November 2011. Hamilton, New Zealand’s largest inland

city is situated on the banks of the Waikato River and we welcome you to experience

its rich history and contrasting splendour.

The focus of this conference is on innovations in nurse education and practice for the

future. Our hope is that challenges for nursing practice are identified and innovative

solutions for nursing education are generated to respond to these challenges. How will

we meet these challenges and how do we provide a future workforce that is ready to

take nursing forward into the next decade?

Please join us in Hamilton as a presenter, promoter or participant for a memorable

conference. We welcome your contribution and invite you to share your experience by

submitting an abstract for a presentation or poster.

See you in Hamilton!

For more information log on to

http://www.nursed.ac.nz/default.asp

Abstract submissions close 1st May


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NSW 2011 Committee In November 2010, the ANTSNSW committee for 2011 was elected. The following are the committee members for 2011.

Chair: Vasiliki Betihavas RN MN PhD candidate (Curtin University)

Vasiliki Betihavas is a Lecturer in The School of Nursing and Midwifery at UWS. Prior to her appointment at UWS in 2005, she

was employed in the health care sector and has over 18 years experience as a nurse, with 15 of those years being employed

in tertiary referral intensive care units in Australia and The United Kingdom. Currently, Vasiliki is a doctoral student and

recipient of an NHMRC scholarship and is undertaking a sub-study of a clinical trial to develop and test a nomogram that

predicts hospitalisation in adults with chronic heart failure.

Secretary: Anne Maree Davis

Anne Maree is the Nurse Manager, Education at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead. Prior to commencing this role in 2008,

Anne Maree has held positions in Practice Development education and Asthma Education.

Treasurer: Benny Alexander-Wayman

Benny is a Clinical Nurse Educator within the Macarthur Community Health Nursing.

Committee members:

Sandra Krepz: BN, Grad. Dip Rehab Nsg, M Clinical Rehab, Currently undertaking a M Clinical Leadership & Supervision.

Sandra is a Clinical Nurse Educator in the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Unit at Liverpool hospital. Her areas of expertise include

head injuries; the rehab process; behaviour management; continence and equipment assessment; education of staff;

patients and families.

Carolyn Ellis is the Clinical Nurse Educator at Ryde Hospital in Sydney, and is responsible for all specialties of Perioperative

Nursing including Day Only. Carolyn’s area of interest is learning and teaching particularly understanding what motivates

learners to learn. Exposure to global environments within and outside of nursing demonstrates that this is a salient concern

amongst educators. Carolyn is working towards completing a Masters in Higher Education Teaching and Learning. It is this

rewarding avenue that has unmasked her interest.

Sally Rickards: RN, RM, Child & Family Health Nurse, Ophth Nsg Dip, Assoc Dip Comm Hlth Nsg, BHSc (Nsg) , Grad Dip Hlth Ed,

IBCLC, Family Partnership Training Facilitator.

Sally is currently employed by SSWAHS, and works at Fairfield Child & Family Health Nursing Service, as Clinical Nurse

Educator. Sally’s particular interests include women facing postnatal difficulties and parenting challenges, and family

conflict. She is also passionate about providing support for women who choose to breast feed. Resilience and how women

and families cope with adversity is also of particular interest for her.

Lynne Slater: RN, RM, BN, Grad Dip HSc (PHC) MMid, MN, MRCNA Director of Clinical Education, School of Nursing and

Midwifery, University of Newcastle. Lynne’s research interests include ‘First time fathers lived experiences of their partner’s

childbirth’, and ‘Care of the older person in acute care’. Lynne is passionate about positive experiences for nursing students

in clinical placements. She is part of a team providing Mentoring programs for RNs in acute care and aged care facilities.

Lynne is also the Secretary of both NSW and National Network of Clinical Coordinators.

Lynda Mitchell: RN, RM, Grad Cert Periop Nsg, MN(Edu), Cert IV WA & T

Lynda works as a Nurse Educator, Perioperative Services at Westmead Hospital. Her areas of expertise include Surgery

comprising pre-admission, day surgery, anaesthetics, instrument & circulating nursing, recovery nursing (PACU) and infection

control.

Sandhya Goundar: BN

Sandhya is currently employed as a Clinical Nurse Educator for Prairiewood and Cabramatta Community Health Centres and

has spent most of her nursing career in community health.

Shushila Lad: RN, RM, M.Med. ED

Shushila is a Clinical Midwifery Educator CCC level 1A at Liverpool Hospital. She has 18 years of midwifery experience both in

Australia and United Kingdom.

Rosemarie Schofield:

Rosemarie is an Associate Lecturer in the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous Health at Charles Sturt University.


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The Victorian Committee has enthusiastically begun work on building the branch and its activities. Organisation

of our first education event for 2011 is underway with a one-day study day focussing on clinical education being

organised for late April.

While the program is still being finalised, we hope to cover an array of important topic areas including teaching

clinical skills, providing feedback, and managing challenging student situations.

Other planned activities this year include surveying Victorian members to examine areas for future education

sessions, conducting one twilight seminar and employing strategies to increase our membership.

The Committee welcomes any contributions or ideas that any of our members wish to offer us in establishing

our branch. We are very keen to hear what both rural and metropolitan members would like us to focus most on

over the next 12 months and beyond. Please feel free to contact any committee member with your suggestions.

Lisa McKenna

VIC Chair

Ph 03 9905 3492

Email

[email protected]

NSW Report Dear Colleagues,

ANTSNSW wanted to identify the needs of its members and structure upcoming 2011 workshops, scheduled for

February, May, July and September to meet these needs. To do this, an online survey was sent to members in

November 2010.

The results of the survey identified the following needs:-

-mentoring and support for nurse educators in the clinical area regarding journal writing;

-assessment and evaluation;

-preceptoring nursing students and nursing staff; and

-how to structure and deliver a teaching session.

The first scheduled workshop will be held on the 18th of February at the University of Western Sydney, Macarthur

(Campbelltown Campus) School of Nursing and Midwifery. The objectives of this workshop are to:-

-mentor nurses in writing for publication;

-learning skills and strategies in writing for publication;

-responding to reviewer comments; and

-Identifying what journal is appropriate for your manuscript.

I look forward to meeting you at upcoming ANTS workshops.

Take care, Vasiliki

Vasiliki Betihavas

RN MN PhD candidate,

ANTSNSW Chair

VIC Report


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Mad or Brave? Saphron’s story

“You are mad”. It is a statement I hear a lot. Complete strangers feel the need to tell me this when I say I am

studying. You see, I am 34, married, have two children aged 5 and 2 ½, a dog, a house (and mortgage) and I am a

full time student. The next inevitable question is “What are you studying?” to which I reply proudly “Bachelor of

Midwifery at Monash University, Peninsula.” Now the responses to this statement are usually one of three: “You

are mad”or “Urgh, I could never do that”, or “How can you look at vaginas all day”. Cue smile and politely reply

“Well, it’s not for everyone.”

Let me explain. It was July 2008, my son was just 6 weeks old and I was at my Maternal and Child Health Nurse

appointment. She could see I was floundering, on 12 months maternity leave with no direction. I need direction.

I had worked as a legal secretary, a job I loved, but it wasn’t fulfilling. It was just a job. I wanted to do something

I loved. My MCHN suggested doing Midwifery and I laughed. Me, a midwife? Seriously?

Then I thought about it, and thought some more. I discussed it with my husband, parents and friends. I

researched the course I thought I wanted to do and came to the realisation my MCHN was spot on. It would

involve care of women at one of the most vulnerable moments in their life, the birth of their baby. It would

involve the support, encouragement, empowerment to give them the confidence to go home and learn how to

deal with an all consuming, seemingly never-ending

routine of care for their brand new bundle of joy. I

wanted a career that I could be still doing at 60

because I wanted to, not because I had to. I am

(sadly) not 17 anymore and I really felt the pressure

of making the right choice. I knew that not earning

an income for so many years would be difficult and I

was concerned about the impact on my family. So

after much anxiety I applied...and I was

accepted...and then I panicked. What if I can’t

cope? What if I fail? Am I a fool for taking this on?

Where do I park? Where on earth is the library?

What if I hate it? I need how many vaccinations for

placement? Am I doing the right thing by my

husband and children? You can imagine what was

going through my head. I am the kind of person

who likes to get in, deal with it and get out. As I enter 2nd Year with clinical placement 2 days a week, I am in the

‘dealing with it’ phase.

It’s a struggle and I am stressed. My desk is in the lounge room because there is no other space available (I used

to work on the kitchen table until last year!) I am learning to step over toys strewn across the floor and sit at my

desk ignoring the mess behind me. I have lots of little fingerprints on my laptop screen and I frequently find

extraneous items in my desk drawers. I download the lectures I can and listen to them on my iPhone during the

drive to Uni. Our daughter has just started prep and our son is at childcare. My mum and dad help out, and we

have friends who invite us around for dinners regularly and organise playdates for my kids so I can study. Without

this support I, or should I say ’we’, would never make it.

This year is going to be really hard. I will be doing 4 units per semester and 2 days clinical placement. That said, I

am really looking forward to it. It is thrilling and terrifying at the same time. I can see the opportunities this will

create and the immeasurable experiences I will have. I hope to do well enough to be offered a fellowship next

year and a graduate year the one after. I can only do my best. After that, well, in my ideal world I would like to

work 3 shifts per week which would still allow me the do canteen duty, attend excursions and assist at school.

So when people say “you are mad”, they are probably just a little bit right. But when I look at my children as they

wave me goodbye as I head off to “nooni” (as my son calls

it) I remember I am not just doing this for me, this is for

them too. I decide I am not mad. I am brave.

Saphron Bonner

Second Year, Bachelor of Midwifery Student

Saphron with Eloise and Hunter


11

Julie Jackson

Chair WA Branch

What’s happening in WA?

On December 2nd, we held an education session

with Margaret Potter, University of Western

Australia, introducing the concept of Teaching on the

Run. The session was extremely dynamic and had

members wanting more. We are hoping to follow up

with Margaret in the New Year.

Our AGM was held the same evening, all branch

positions were up for nomination and the committee

members of 2010 were all nominated and accepted

as the committee for 2011.

The Branch has now arranged a regular venue for

our education sessions, WASON, Royal Perth Hospital and we have

emailed all WA members tentative dates for 2011, so watch this

space.

We are still working very hard and organising the 14th National

Nurse Educators Conference to be held in Perth in 2012.

The committee look forward to a very busy 2011 and would like

Armadale Health Service held its inaugural Education Expo in

January. “The expo was designed to showcase the education

available for all caregivers over the next 12 months”, Manager

of Education and Staff Development, Jacqueline Aguiar said.

Approximately 300 caregivers attended the expo which

was held over two days. Displays included external

educational opportunities as well as internal education

such as Critical Care, Mandatory, Mental Health,

Clinical, Non Clinical, Computer Courses and

Leadership Training.

New in 2011 is the Leadership Series and Management

Essential Series aimed at providing systems training and

improving leadership and managerial skills. Jacqueline

Aguiar said that these series were already filling with

registrants. The expo showcased many new sessions

planned for 2011 including Corporate Governance

education, Aboriginal Cultural Awareness Training,

WoW education (What’s on Wednesdays) – short

clinical education sessions, as well as many new

Clinical education sessions and workshops.

Caregivers were encouraged to register their

interest in several new forums with the Journal

Club collecting 55 signatures and the CN Forum

collecting 25.

Jacqui Aguiar

A/Manager - Education & Staff Development

Expo in Armidale WA


12

Taking on Al’s advice I ‘studied’ other staff’s teaching

styles – what seemed to work and what didn’t. Some

had excellent knowledge of the subject they were

teaching but weren’t able to convey this information.

Some were great teachers but were limited by their own

lack of knowledge. There were many examples of great

teaching. I made many mistakes, but on reflection, I

have learnt more from these mistakes than I have from

my successes. To this day, I continue to prepare

teaching sessions, feeling confident in my ability to

deliver, but knowing that it will not be as good as when I

deliver it again next time. Self reflection and acceptance

of criticism is an under-rated skill.

Now at Melbourne’s St. Vincents & Mercy Private

Hospital, I work as an Education Consultant (ICU) and

Resuscitation Coordinator. A few years back, when staff

attrition was costing the business, the hospital’s CEO

invested heavily in staff education. However, it paid off

and during a recent accreditation process the Hospital

was awarded an “Outstanding Achievement” for

education – a standard quite difficult to acquire.

My role is to coordinate the delivery of education to

staff in ICU from undergraduate level through to

Masters via a combination of bed-side teaching and

University lecturing. This is challenging and rewarding

and provides excellent opportunities to utilize all the

various teaching methods available. It is the immediate

feedback you get from students – those ‘light bulb’

moments where you know that they actually get it, that

makes teaching so worthwhile. With tremendous pride

and satisfaction, I see ‘my’ students now graduating and

remaining in the unit, committed to passing on their

knowledge. Their patient’s are in safe hands, and so too

are the next generation of nurses.

Simon Plapp

ICU Educator and Resuscitation Coordinator

“Learning more from my mistakes than my successes”

“Born to be a nurse”. I’ve heard that line many times

in my nursing career. I don’t think I ever was. My

career in nursing began in Tasmania, when after Year

12, I detested the prospect of University and instead,

wanted a job – or to be more precise, a pay packet. I

feel fortunate that back then (the early 80’s) you could

learn to be a nurse in hospital based training whilst

also being paid a paltry sum.

Ironically, I enjoyed the stimulation of learning new

things and I liked the contextual learning environment.

Importantly though, I was inspired by two passionate

nurse educators who took a genuine interest in my

career development (or maybe it was the novelty of

having a male nurse in the group). Their impact on my

professional life will probably never be known to them,

but they will not be forgotten. A simple message they

passed on was “it is selfish to learn something without

sharing your knowledge with others”. What they

insisted we did as nurses was to pass on our skills and

to never take more than we gave back.

I was never a great nurse. I always got on well with

my patients. I always felt they were in ‘safe hands’.

However, in the Intensive Care Unit I felt that I “knew

my stuff” and quickly found my niche for several years.

In 1998, I moved to Victoria and completed formal ICU

Post Graduate studies. It was here that I met another

passionate educator – Al Park, who inspired me as I

was once inspired before as a student. Al had a knack

of making sense of things using analogies that I could

relate to. He was also very humble and admitted that

everything he knew was plagiarized from others, but

that he was selective in his plagiarization and only

copied their strengths. He would often remind us all

that he didn’t know everything, but that he felt what

he knew, he understood. He felt this was important if

we were to teach others. I was inspired to teach.

In 2000, I began as an educator in ICU at the

Western Hospital and then The Freemasons Hospital.


13

As we welcome in a new year we have organised a professional development day for Saturday 14th

May at The

Queen Elizabeth Hospital where both members and non-members are invited to attend. The Professional

Development Day will comprise of local speakers and educational trade displays. The displays will be open during

morning tea / lunch and afternoon break for participants to access. The registration form is already on the ANTS

web site for participants to complete. We look forward to seeing all current and potential new members for an

enjoyable interactive day.

SA Branch Report

If you are a clinician, educator, academic, researcher, leader or policy maker interested in hear-

ing, or sharing, the latest updates on how simulation techniques can be used to enhance training

programs and research in healthcare education, patient safety, human factors, systems design

and quality improvement, this is the conference for you.

Simulation in Australia is a key area in health education, safety and quality and the next twelve

months promises to be an exciting time for investment in simulation in the Australian healthcare

system.

For more information go to

www.simhealth.com.au


14

Long -term Caring (2nd Edition)

Karen Scott, Margaret Webb &

Sheila Sorrentino

Published 2011

Price $90.00

Published 2010 by Mosby/Elsevier

(Reviewed by Tina Dodd)

This book is aimed at Enrolled

Nursing Students or Personal Care

Workers. It is easy to navigate

through the book with Each of the

5 sections colour-coded and

containing easy to follow chapters

within.

Each chapter encompasses

objectives that the learner will

achieve on completion, as well as

questions (and answers) regarding

information in the topic.

The book is a collaborative

production by the many people

involved through all areas of

nursing and academia, ensuring a

comprehensive view of the aged

care industry in Australia and New

Zealand.

Each chapter is comprehensive

in its explanation of its content

and incorporates visual aids such

as photos, tables and diagrams to

allow the learner to fully grasp the

subject matter. Interactive

learning is also encouraged, with

up-to-date web links and an e-

page, designed to be used in

conjunction with the book.

A useful tool for Clinical

Teachers; it is an easy to use

teaching aid in the classroom or

clinical setting.

This book is highly recommended

to learners and Clinical Teachers

alike, for a basic introduction to

Health Care in the Aged Care

setting.

******

Community Health and Wellness

4e Primary health Care in Practice

Anne McMurray and Jill Clendon

Published 2011

Price $79.00

Published 2010 by Churchill

Livingstone /Elsevier

(Review by Robin Digby)

Anne McMurray and Jill Clendon

have produced an interesting, well-

written and logically set-out text for

those with an interest in Primary

Health Care in Australia and New

Zealand.

The book is divided into two

sections which are further broken

up into chapters elaborating on the

core concepts. The first section

explores the idea of community in a

modern world and the definition

and achievement of ‘well-ness’

which helps to frame the more

specific issues discussed in the

second section. The second section

occupies the greater part of the

book, and elaborates on the

importance of promoting wellness

at each stage of life from birth to old

age. The chapter on healthy families

is particularly thought-provoking.

The authors take an interesting

socio-ecological approach to

framing community health and

wellness across the lifespan.

The text is well written in clear

jargon-free language. A useful

device employed throughout the

book is the ‘points to ponder’

squares which punctuate each page.

These are a précis of the main

points of the text and would be

useful to students studying in

preparation for exams. The

objectives of each chapter follow

the introduction and are mirrored

by a textbox at the end of the

chapter entitled ‘reflecting on the

big issues’. Each chapter has an

extensive reference section.

A case study approach is

employed throughout the book,

with discussion on how the issues

raised impact on the fictitious

‘Miller family’. The experiences of

this multi-generational trans-

Tasman family are discussed and

encourage the reader to think

practically about the subject matter.

The appendices supply valuable

information including the Jakarta

Declaration, the People’s Health

Charter and The Bangkok Charter

for Health Promotion in a Globalised

World.

In summary this book is a very

user-friendly text which is logically

sequenced and easy to follow. It

would be very useful for students of

community health and wellness and

would also provide teacher’s with a

clear framework for class work and

evaluation.

Book reviews All reviewed books are available from Elsevier Australia Ph 1800 263 951 www.shop.elsevier.com.au


15

Patients with dementia – Implications for caring and ongoing education

Dementia is a condition related to aging. As the lifespan

of the population continues to increase, the incidence of

dementia will correspondingly increase in our society, and

consequently in our hospitals. We transfer patients with

dementia in our health system between beds, wards and

facilities more often than is ideal, and on occasion many

times within the same admission. The effect that these

transfers have on people with dementia has not been

thoroughly explored and is not usually considered as a risk

factor in patient safety, satisfaction with care or the

progress of their illness. But is this a fair assumption?

A small qualitative study was undertaken at a 60-bed

Geriatric Evaluation and Management facility in outer

Melbourne in which eight patients with mild to moderate

dementia, who had been transferred from the acute

hospital within the previous few days, were interviewed

about their experiences. Predictably none of them had a

clear recollection of the transfer itself because of short-term memory problems; however they had plenty to say

about their experiences at the new facility. Some of this feedback could contribute to the planning of care for

patients with dementia when we are moving them between or within facilities.

Loss of control over what is happening to them is a recurrent theme. It appears that some health professionals

do not feel the need to include patients with dementia in discussions about their care, or if they do, are unaware

that this may need to be repeated more than once for a person who has trouble processing and retaining

information. The subject of ‘bossy nurses’ came up several times in the discussions – nurses who make decisions

for the patient without consulting them and are impatient with people who are slow to catch on. This is

anathema to the concept of person-centred care.

A closely related subject is that people with dementia often feel that they are being treated like idiots. This is

demonstrated when a health professional addresses the relative as if the patient is not there, uses patronizing

language or what is known as ‘carespeak’, or dismisses the opinions of the patient as not being valid. Respect for

people despite their limitations is important and often underemphasized.

Family support is crucial for many, and ‘significant others’ should be involved and included in the patient’s care

as much as possible. Many people with dementia are happy to abdicate responsibility for decision-making to a

close relative, and take comfort that this familiar person is there watching out for them in an unfamiliar

environment. An understanding of this is important when transferring a patient between facilities. The person

may feel unsettled by the change, but the presence of a family member has the potential to mitigate against this.

It is common that people with dementia take longer to get a sense of their environment. Some of the people in

the study mentioned that they could hear noises outside their rooms which they were unable to identify, and this

made them fearful or anxious. It is worth ensuring that a thorough orientation of the environment is conducted

on admission, and subsequently repeated if necessary to allay this fear. Anxiety can translate to problem

behaviour such as aggression, wandering or withdrawal in some individuals

with dementia. It is important to note that although people with dementia Continued over page....

Research Summary


16

Patients with dementia – Implications for caring and ongoing education

may not have specific recall of incidents which have upset them,

they can have ‘implicit memory’ in which the anxiety or fear stays

with them despite the loss of the detail. This can affect behaviour and impact on the patient’s ability to settle into

a new environment. The trauma of transferring between sites, or a negative experience can impact on behaviour

despite the patient having little or no recall of the events.

Fear of the future is common, and discharge planning is a worry for many who have some insight into their

situation. Time taken to talk to the patient about their wishes and fears is time well spent because the patient

feels heard and included in the discussions. The patients have a right to be consulted in planning for the future at

whatever level they are able to participate.

So, what are the implications of this study for the care of people with dementia? Special consideration to

orientation must be provided for them so that fear of the new environment is allayed. Including family in the

transfer and settling period can assist, and it must be understood that details may need to be repeated to the

patient several times – nurses must be sympathetic to this need. Awareness of the patient’s right to be treated

with respect is crucial, and this means eliminating patronizing ‘carespeak’, and ensuring that the patient is

included in decisions which affect them. Knowing that the orientation process is more problematic for people

with dementia, transfers should be minimized to reduce the potential for patient stress

and unsettled behaviour, but if they are necessary, allowances must be made to

accommodate their special needs.

Continued from previous page

DATE FOR YOUR DIARIES

14TH National Nurse Educators

Conference

PERTH WA

APRIL 11-13 2012

Robin Digby, VIC [email protected]


17

The Adult Cannulation and Venepuncture Course

has been run successfully since 1982, and continued by

the Sydney South West Area Health Service from 2005,

where staff were accredited in peripheral venous

cannulation and venepuncture. Over time, the course

design has been modified to reflect current evidence,

supported by journal publications and the Centre for

Disease Control guidelines. This course became a

VETAB accredited course in 2009, so staff can obtain a

nationally recognised qualification.

The course aims to provide opportunities for the

participants to acquire knowledge and skills in

peripheral venous cannulation and venepuncture and

maintain quality patient care through the prompt

administration of prescribed intravenous medications

or fluids and prevent any delay in patient blood

investigations.

Delivered over 45 hours, participants are assessed

both on and off the job. Working under the

supervision of a qualified assessor, each participant

must complete each unit to be granted a Statement of

Attainment, as follows:

Certificate III in Pathology

• HLTPAT306B Perform Blood Collection

• HLTPAT308B Identify and respond to clinical risks

associated with pathology

Certificate IV in Pathology

• HLTPAT409B Perform intravenous cannulation for

sample collection

Each participant can be granted a statement of

attainment in either/both the Certificate III and IV

depending on which skill they wish to be assessed in.

Objectives

At the completion of the course the participants

should be able to:

• Apply the policy and procedures relating to

peripheral venous cannulation and/or

venepuncture

• Adhere to infection control policy and standard

precautions when accessing peripheral veins for

cannulation and/or venepuncture

• Demonstrate competency in the performance of

peripheral venous cannulation using safety cannula

and venepuncture using the vacutainer system

• Identify and comprehend the potential complications

related to peripheral venous cannulation/

venepuncture

Pre-requisite

• Pre-reading consists of a Resource Manual and

Workbook, which are necessary requirements for

attendance to the course.

Course Content

• Independent Study Centre for Education &

Workforce Development (CEWD) Adult Cannulation

& Venepuncture (AC&V) Course Resource Manual

• Attendance at the course

• Successful completion of supervised successful

peripheral venous accesses of either one of the

following categories:

i. Full assessment in Peripheral Venous Cannulation &

Venepuncture (min of 5 supervised successful

peripheral cannulations and 5 supervised successful

peripheral venepunctures using a vacutainer system).

ii. Full assessment in Peripheral Venous Cannulation (min

of 5 supervised successful peripheral cannulations)

iii. Full assessment in peripheral venepuncture (min of 5

supervised successful peripheral venepunctures (using

a vacutainer system)

Enquiries

Mary van den Dolder

Nurse Educator, Area Nursing & Midwifery Education

Centre for Education and Workforce Development

Ph 02 9828 6743

Email [email protected]

Adult Cannulation & Venepuncture Course - NSW

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18

Life as a Clinical Coordinator

My name is Arlene Parry and I am the Clinical Coordinator

for the Peninsula Campus of the School of Nursing &

Midwifery at Monash University. There are currently

approximately 1000 students on this campus who require

clinical placements and it is my job to provide them all with

a quality clinical placement, that will give them a valuable

learning experience.

I am a registered nurse with a background in Critical Care

and I have recently completed a Master of Education.

The role of Clinical Coordinator is one of the most diverse

& challenging jobs I have ever had, but one which I enjoy

immensely. This is an academic role and on a daily basis I

need to utilise excellent management, leadership,

organisational, PR and communication skills to do my job.

The major challenge is sourcing enough placements for the number of students, so simply a supply and

demand situation. There are many Health Education Providers (HEPs) in Victoria requiring placements for their

students and the Health Care Providers (HCP) have limited capacity to supply placements for all these HEPS. This

is further complicated by the fact that placements only occur during certain months of the year according to the

academic semesters, so we are all sourcing placements for the same weeks of the year. This problem seems to

increase each year as student enrolments rise, but the placements available remain static. This issue is currently

being addressed by the Department of Health and new initiatives are being implemented to overcome the

shortage of clinical placements.

In my role I am fortunate enough to have two administrative officers who perform all the day to day admin

related to placements and assist students with Police Checks and other documentation necessary for placement.

They also send information to our clinical venues in relation to student placements.

We utilise an online placement system for sorting the students into the available placements. All the

placement offers from the HCPs are entered into the system along with all the students enrolled then it is simply

a matter of hitting an ‘auto sort’ button and students are randomly placed. We do not offer the students any

placement preferences, but the majority of students are satisfied with their allocated placement. The most

stressful part of my role would have to be ensuring that all students are placed with 4 weeks notice of their

placement, and keeping students informed of the progress of placements is vital to student satisfaction.

Another large part of my role is managing our bank of Sessional Clinical Educators. Our Clinical Educators play a

vital role in the success of clinical placement and they are integral to the success of our Nursing and Midwifery

programs. It is my responsibility to ensure we employ experienced, highly qualified, reliable Educators. I also

organise our annual one day workshop on Clinical Education prior to the commencement of the academic

semester, which provides the Educators with information on any changes to policies and procedures, strategies to

manage difficult situations with students, providing feedback, and updates on recent research related to clinical

education and to provide a forum for networking. These sessions are highly regarded by our Educators.

The part of my role which I find most enjoyable is visiting clinical venues, meeting with DONs and Education

Managers to negotiate and secure clinical placements for our students. I find that a face to face meeting is much

more rewarding and the outcome more positive than a phone call or email and we have managed to secure many

new contracts with HCPs this way, along with establishing a good rapport with someone from the outset.

Relationship building is a key part of this role and the way to make this a success is keeping up regular

communication with our clinical partners and making sure they know who to contact and that there is someone

here to answer their questions or address their concerns promptly. This is vital when sourcing “extra” placements

as I can quite easily pick up the phone and call any of my clinical partners to request placements.

As mentioned previously, this is a challenging role, but one that gives me lots of autonomy and diversity. There

are always ways in which systems can be improved in order to enhance the student experience and recognising

what these are and how they can be done is part of the challenge of the role of Clinical Coordinator.

Arlene Parry


19

Elizabeth Murphy

Narelle Aujard

Diane Coller

Caleb Ferguson

Graham King

Pippa Marchant NSW

Deborah McCarthy

Renee McGill

Stephanie Stewart

Angela Tomasella

Gina Wilks

Lecia Semcesen SA

Ann McPhedran

Tonia Gibbs

Michelle Hodgekiss QLD

Leanne Pound

Lisa Donohue VIC

Christopher Craib

Sholeh Boyle WA

Rosemary Brewin

Interested in winning….

Smeltzer and Bare’s

Textbook of Medical-Surgical Nursing?

This 2 Volume text will be awarded to an ANTS member who submits a ‘special interest’

story to the next edition of the ANTS eBulletin.

Your ‘special interest’ story may be about one of the following:-

• a clinical teaching experience • a challenging situation (eg. managing reluctant learners) • A creative teaching method/Innovation in teaching/education.

How to submit:-

In 1000 words or less, write your special interest story. Include a photo (and references if necessary)

Email it to the Editor at [email protected] by Sunday 15th May 2011

The prize will be awarded at the Editor’s discretion, however all stories may be published.

New ANTS members since December 2010

Prize supplied by

Lippincott , Wilkins & Williams

www.lww.com

Valued at $138.00


20

Want to contribute?

If you have a good news that you would

like to share, some interesting research

results, a story about your experiences in

nurse education, or perhaps you would

like to comment on an article from the

previous e-Bulletin.

If so, please contact the Editor.

This e-Bulletin is published quarterly. The

deadline for submissions and advertisements for

the upcoming editions is

NO LATER THAN

15th February

15th May

15th August

15th November (exceptions possible with prior arrangement)

The Australian Nurse Teachers’ Society

National Executive

Contact the Editor

Melissa Bloomer

Lecturer, PhD Candidate

Monash University

School of Nursing and Midwifery

PO Box 527

Frankston, VIC, 3199

Email: [email protected]

Ph: 03 9904 4203 or 0402 472 334

The official e-Bulletin of the Australian Nurse Teachers’ Society

Inc is published quarterly. The opinions expressed by the

contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of the executive

or other members of the Australian Nurse Teachers’ Society. The

Editor reserves the right to edit or delete submissions for length,

content or policy. All advertisements and items are taken in

good faith but the Australian Nurse Teachers’ Society Inc cannot

accept responsibility for misinterpretations by advertisers nor

does inclusion of any item imply endorsement by the Australian

Nurse Teachers’ Society. All rights reserved

President:

Sandra Campbell

PhD Candidate

The Rozelle Campus

School of Nursing & Midwifery

The University of Tasmania

Ph. 0412 296 028


Vice-President:

Lisa Gatzonis

Manager, Education & Research Unit,

Joondalup Health Campus,

Western Australia

Mob: 0407 327 048


Secretary:

Dr. Christine Taylor

Acting Director of Clinical Education

Deputy Director of Clinical Education (Simulation Laboratories)

Parramatta Campus, Bldg ER

University of Western Sydney

Locked Bag 1797

Penrith South DC NSW 1797


Mob: 0449 253 650

Treasurer:

Olivia Mulligan

CNE: Transition Nurse Support Program

Liverpool Hospital

Sydney

Mob : 0402 091 903


vol. 2 issue 1 challenging times · following e-bulletin on the award presentation. congratulatory...

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